Micron draft environmental impact statement is issued

Public-comment period is underway          

CLAY — The public-comment period is underway on the 20,000-page draft environmental-impact statement (DEIS) on the upcoming Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) manufacturing campus in the town of Clay. Within the comment period, an in-person public hearing is set for July 24 at Liverpool High School. In his remarks to local reporters on June 25 when the document became available for public viewing, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said it will actually be three public hearings on July 24 at Liverpool High School to allow for those who have busy schedules during the summer months. The hearings will be scheduled between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.; with the third hearing held between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The comment period closes on Aug. 11. Instructions on how to comment are available on the Onondaga County Office of Economic Development website (https://ongoved.com/microndeis2025/). The draft environmental-impact statement is the “roadmap,” McMahon said in his remarks to reporters that CNYBJ reviewed on YouTube. “It’s the roadmap that really studies the impacts on the community, the mitigation strategies, and triggers a community dialogue, a public-comment period, and based off that community dialogue that will then trigger what will be necessary input from the public and then that will lead to an environmental-impact statement that certainly will clear the way to begin the project later on this year in the fall,” McMahon said. The Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Boise, Idaho–based Micron jointly prepared the document. The DEIS is a required component of both the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) and the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in announcing the document’s release. The effort “reflects one of the most thorough analyses ever conducted for a project in New York State,” Hochul’s office said. Micron plans to invest up to $100 billion and support the creation of nearly 50,000 jobs over the next 20-plus years and will include the nation’s largest clean-room space at about 2.4 million square feet. “We appreciate the local, state, and federal agencies whose assistance and review have been instrumental in helping us reach this important milestone,” Manish Bhatia, executive VP of global operations at Micron, said in the state’s announcement. “Micron remains focused on bringing leading-edge memory manufacturing to New York. We’ve taken great care to prepare comprehensive draft environmental impact statement materials for review by the public and by local, state, and federal government agencies. As we move toward ground preparation later this year, we look forward to working closely with the lead agencies to ensure the process meets all regulatory requirements and provides meaningful opportunities for community input.”